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Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Friday night I got a text on my way home from S. He was
telling me he had to stay back at work late (busy period)… naturally, I
wondered what I was going to do (because I can’t entertain myself), until I saw
D standing in the street on the phone. She was on the phone to her boyfriend
who was cancelling plans for the night and so we decided ‘stuff the boys’ and
went to Newtown for some drinks. If there is one thing about us and drinking,
it’s that we never go easy. On the way up I said ‘we’ll just have a couple’.
HA! We started with a bottle of wine and a cheese platter at Black Sheep. One
bottle of wine became two and then we decided to head to Social Club for one
drink then to Argie Bargee. Neither of the last two were that good to be
honest. Quiet and no atmosphere.

Saturday I lazed about the house thinking of all the Uni
work I could have been doing and watching Breaking Bad with S. We’re up to
Season 4 now and I am glad that they don’t kill Walt yet as I quite like him.

Sunday I was meant to get up early and go and visit my
parents, but I slept through my alarm. After a lazy coffee with S, I got my
stuff together and headed out to woop-woop where we promptly decided the warm
weather warranted a trip to the beach. Just like everyone else without air
conditioning! Anyway, we decided the water was too cold after all and went to
get fish and chips then for a stroll on the beach…..and to take photos jumping
and posing and all those cliché beach shots because that’s what makes my Mum
happy.

After all that, I got no Uni work done at all. Helloooo busy
week ahead!

Friday, October 18, 2013

I thought it was high time I ran a giveaway on this blog to thank my lovely readers for coming back and reading the random stuff I post! All of the items on the list are items I love to use and keep coming back to.

I am giving away:

- William Thomas Duck Soap

- Loccitane Hand Cream in Shea Butter (30ml)

- Lemongrass Sherbet candle

- Happy Lab Salted Caramel Bar

To enter, please use rafflecopter below. Remember; you don't need to do everything on the list to gain entries, but the more you do, the more entries you gain. You need to click on each item that you have done in order for your entries to go through.Giveaway ends Friday 25th October 2013 and the winner will be announced soon after.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

1. I booked flights to see my beautiful friend, K in a couple of weeks’ time and I am so
excited. K lives in Brisbane and so does Steve’s cousin (and another will be visiting)
so I get to visit all three in one weekend. That is really exciting. Hopefully the weather
is good so I can check out some beaches as I hear that Queensland has some nice ones. If
you have any suggestions on what else to see/do, let me know. One of the cousins, J has
been travelling around the US/Canada for the past couple of months and her stories
should be pretty great!

2. My little Teddy is not well at the moment. He randomly started acting strangely at
9:30pm on Tuesday night and after taking him to the after-hours vet (he’d eaten a bit of
chocolate ¼ of the size of my pinky fingernail) they said he was fine (thank goodness
they didn’t charge us). I stayed up all night as he wouldn’t sleep and wanted me to hold
him and by morning he had broken out in a rash. He spent the day at the vet, came
home and was fine and then the rash came back. He is currently at work with Steve and
has been agitated all day but we upped his dose of cortisone so hopefully that kicks in.
Did you know you can give dog’s benedryl? I read it online but was told not to give Ted
any by the vet as Schnauzers can get gastrointestinal problems.

3. My little Nephew turns one next month. Tell me when THAT happened!? I wish I got
to see them more often, but life is life and we’re all busy and they live over an hour
away. An hour and a half with the M5 ‘road works’. Anyway, I have Uni exams the week
of his first birthday and might not be able to make it to his first birthday party. I feel SO
guilty, but they are pretty much my last uni exams ever and I don’t want to fail. What to
do, what to do?

*I don't know if you've heard of Happy Lab and if you haven't, go now! I am munching on a box of lollies as I type this.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

One of my beautiful best friends got
a beautiful little Labrador puppy a few months ago after she moved to Brisbane.
Harvey; as they named him, was a beautiful little boy. He stole K and her
boyfriend C’s heart right from the minute they met him.In fact, the day I
received the picture of the little pup I knew he was the right one for them. Harvey
knew, too. A new addition to their lives that they would love endlessly and
adore.

Harvey passed puppy pre-school with flying colours and I was
told many times how happy K and C were with Harvey. He would follow them around,
chew like puppies do and even skyped me with K on one occasion.

The day they picked him up

Two weeks ago, Harvey was in a tragic accident where he
fell off a ute (collar snapped) and his lung collapsed. The day I received the
text message from K, my heart and stomach sank. How does that happen to such a
small puppy who had so much life ahead of him. K told me the vet had said that
Harvey was looking up. His health was getting better and he would be home on
Friday. Unfortunately, the next day Harvey’s health deteriorated. He got worse
and K and C were asked to come in to say goodbye. K messaged me again and again
my heart and stomach sank. How does this happen to such a beautiful puppy?

It was no-one’s fault that Harvey was hurt. No-one could
foresee such a tragic accident happening to such loving, caring people. K and
C, I love you both dearly and hope you aren’t blaming yourselves. Harvey knew
he was and is still very loved and you both did the absolute best for that
little boy.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Probably none of you actually asked that question, but
I am taking it upon myself to answer it anyway. If you clicked on this blog
then you must care at least a little bit so here I am to tell you!

I took no photos on the weekend, but I did drink cider...so here's a picture of some cider.

I went in to the weekend at 5:30pm after I walked out of work with
absolutely no plans. By 6pm, I had plans to grab a drink with Steve in Newtown,
plans to visit his Nan (in her new place) and plans to catch up with a friend,
M while Steve and T (M’s boyfriend) played tennis in the afternoon. That is
pretty much how it turned out, except the Friday night drink turned in to three
drinks and dinner. Then Saturday turned in to drinks at the park with the boys
after they finished tennis, drinks with M at the Courthouse (Newtown), dinner
with M and her baby H while the boys went for a drink and finally, me going to
meet the boys as M was tired and I didn't want to keep her up.

Unintentionally busy and tiring, but I made up for that by spending most of
Sunday out of the heat inside watching Breaking Bad. I am only up to Season
three and I am hooked. I might have read Wikipedia to see what happens in the
next few episodes, but I will most likely forget what it said in a day or two
anyway.

Back to Friday night. Steve and I went to Bank Hotel in Newtown and decided
to take advantage of two for one share plates. They were not great though and I’m
not sure I’d go for the share plates again. Too deep fried for my liking. We
grabbed a seat by the front window and had a great time people watching. There
are some really strange characters in Newtown, but it’s definitely something I
love about the place. People are just themselves.

When I went from M’s place to meet the boys in Newtown on Saturday night, I
used an UBER taxi. Have you used that service? I really love it. I gave someone
my code recently and got a $10 credit from it, so I only paid $2.80 for a taxi
ride. The trip was short, but for my own safety I preferred to take a cab than
walk. We’ve used UBER before and took a ‘black car’ which is a nice change to a
normal cab. I love that you get the drivers picture and number ahead of your
ride. It makes me catching a cab late at night a lot safer when I can send
Steve the details of the driver. If you haven’t heard of it, I definitely
recommend you check it out. It’s easy to sign up to and a cashless system (you
link your bank or credit card), so there is no exchange of money at the end.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

On the way home from our mini holiday we stopped in Bowral for lunch...except we didn't because there was a market on and no car spaces. S had the idea that we stop at Centennial Vineyard for lunch and I agreed thinking he was talking of Briars in Mossvale. As I was driving and got closer, I suddenly remembered the place we were going....and then I remembered I was wearing a t-shirt, shorts, salty beach hair and a hat. Not an outfit fit for Centennial Vineyards. We also had Teddy in the car and there is no outdoor seating. S assured me it would be fine and rang ahead to ask if they could seat us outside as we had the dog. So they did.

They set our table which was under the beautiful trees (conveniently away from the well dressed diners inside). The weather was so perfect, so sitting out under the trees was no problem at all. The grass is lovely and Ted had no problems lazing around while we ate lunch.

I ordered the Twice Baked Soufflé (Parmesan & gruyere soufflé, sweet potato fondant, caramelised garlic, onion rings & sauce soubise) and S ordered the Eye Fillet Steak. I had never had souffle before and seriously, where has it been all my life. Why hasn't anyone made me souffle before? The food was fantastic. Every component of the dish worked well together. I also ordered a glass of pinot noir (my favourite type of wine) which was great. I forgot to look and see if it was from the actual winery though..oops.

I would recommend Centennial Vineyards as a nice place to go for a special occasion. It's not really somewhere you go if you've been swimming in the morning and your hair is a little matted, but lucky for me they let me eat there anyway. I was really impressed that they accommodated us having the dog there too and they really took a leap of faith by doing this as we could have brought in a feral dog that ripped up the gardens. Lucky Ted was a good patron and just slept the whole time.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

We were well overdue for a little family holiday, so I jumped on stayz last week and booked a house down in Culburra Beach for S, Teddy and I. Ted is a huge fan of the beach and loved every minute of having the wide open space to run around in and the water to swim in.

We chose a house that was close to the beach, took some drinks and cooked a couple of BBQ's and had a really relaxing time together. Culburra Beach is about 2.5 hours from Sydney, though it took about 4 hours as there was a bit of holiday traffic and we stopped in Berry for lunch. The beach itself is dog friendly at all times, so it is perfect for a holiday with the pup. Ted was happy to see dogs the whole way along the beach.